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Liam Lawson says Racing Bulls began the season with âno real ideaâ how competitive the VCARB 03 would be. Lawson said: "Honestly, I think at the start of the year we had no real idea, and it was probably very open-ended in the way that we were feeling; we didn't know how strong we'd be. And then we very quickly found a lot of performance out of the car, and that's been really working."
Mattia Binotto says Audi is âsatisfied, but not happy yetâ with its first Formula 1 season at the halfway stage, stressing the priority has been establishing strong foundations rather than chasing immediate podiums. Asked by RacingNews365 to sum up the campaign, Binotto said the R26 is âa good car with no fundamental problemâ and âa healthy car⌠with no big problemsâ, even if reliability and operational issues have hurt results. He added that recent races show Audi is âgoing in the right directionâ.
A Disney-themed Formula 1 replica helmet has set a charity auction record after selling for ÂŁ151,000, which organisers say is the highest publicly recorded price for an F1 helmet that was not worn or used during an official race weekend. The Disney x Formula 1 âFuel the Magicâ helmet, created for a Make-A-Wish International fundraiser by Disney, F1 and Memento Exclusives, was signed by 20 current F1 drivers, with the autographs collected at the British Grand Prix weekend. All proceeds will go to Make-A-Wish International.
Toto Wolff said Mercedes âshould have had P2â with Kimi Antonelli at the Hungarian Grand Prix and that he remained âglass half emptyâ about the weekend despite the 19-year-old extending his drivers' championship lead over Lewis Hamilton. Wolff said: "That's great, but I've always been a miserable guy; the glass is half empty. We could have had P2; we should have had P2. In balance, he got the penalties, so overall, maybe on Kimi's side we need to go home and say, 'that's okay in terms of the points'."
Alex Albon says he doubts Williamsâ underlying car problems will be solved by its planned upgrade for Baku. Albon said: "We know the weaknesses of the car, we know the directions, I think as a team, this year, the work that's being done at the factory, it's the biggest effort I've seen from the team to really fight these genetic DNA problems that this team has... If it's cured by Baku? I doubt it. I think a lot of the Baku stuff has happened. That upgrade was planned quite a long time ago."
Max Verstappen has urged the Dutch government to provide greater support for motorsport in the Netherlands, arguing it is needed to sustain a pipeline of talent beyond his era. Speaking to Formule1.nl, Verstappen said the sportâs popularity depends on âthe talent coming upâ and added: âHopefully, the government will also step up to the plate.â
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have played down the idea Ferrari gained a meaningful advantage by running laps at the new Madring circuit on a filming day, after McLaren raised questions about the visit. McLaren boss Andrea Stella said Ferrariâs run came âas a surpriseâ and while it broke no rules, âpossibly a little bit of an advantageâ could be gained from having references. Hamilton insisted conditions meant there was little to learn, saying: âIt was very, very dusty⌠and there was no grip.â
Isack Hadjar says Red Bull still needs to âdigâ for more performance because the team is âlacking competitivenessâ compared with Mercedes and Ferrari, despite what he described as âgood progressâ with the RB22. Hadjar said: "We're still not where I want to be. There are still a few areas where we're lacking competitiveness compared to Ferrari and Mercedes, so we still need to dig, but it's definitely good progress."
McLaren technical director for applied engineering Neil Houldey says the team has smaller upgrades coming in the next races and is targeting a potentially more substantial package for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after its latest update helped deliver a step at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Houldey said: "At the moment, we've got smaller upgrades arriving at the next sequence of events, and then potentially something more substantial for Baku. After that, it really will depend on whether we find something substantial in aero after the summer break, and whether we think there's value in doing an end-of-season package or fully switch to next year's car."
Williams team principal James Vowles says the teamâs âpositive changes are maskedâ despite its on-track results as Formula 1 begins the summer shutdown. Vowles said: "Much of the positive changes are masked, there are strong developments that will help year to year. We'll return energised and ready to finish the year strong."
Formula 1âs Q2 2026 earnings showed a sharp drop in revenue and profit after a reduced race schedule, with Liberty Media reporting revenue down 38% to $764m and operating income down 61% to $73m. The figures were distorted by having only five races in the quarter versus nine a year ago, after calendar reshuffles, while team payments also fell to $316m from $513m. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said F1 will âhave more sprint races next yearâ to âincrement the revenue streamâ, but added it cannot be âevery grand prixâ because âitâs importantâ to keep âscarcityâ.
Charles Leclerc says he would be âhappyâ for Mercedes teenager Kimi Antonelli to win the 2026 world championship if neither he nor Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton can stop him. Leclerc said: "I'm not thinking about the championship just yet; I want to win another race. The work I'm putting in is paying off. If Ferrari didn't win the title, I'd be happy for Kimi to win it. He's incredibly enthusiastic â it reminds me of myself when I made my debut."
Lando Norris says he thinks McLaren can win more races this season but is not confident at every circuit because the car is still not strong enough in some areas, after his Hungarian Grand Prix victory. Norris said: "Of course, I'm optimistic for the future, and I think we can win more races, but we have good competition, and there are still plenty of races I'm not confident in because the car is not to the standard that it needs to be in certain areas."
Toto Wolff says McLaren have âdefinitely done a stepâ with their MCL40 upgrades but warned against overreacting to their pace in Hungary because the Hungaroring has suited them in recent years. Wolff said: "When you ask the artificial intelligence who would be the favourites in Budapest, the artificial intelligence is going to say McLaren, because they were the dominant team here in the last few years. So definitely one of the good tracks for them, and not very good for us. So we need to be careful not to swing from everyone is suddenly competitive, to a team is suddenly not competitive. I think they've definitely done a step."
Charles Leclerc says Madringâs banked La Monumental corner can become one of the most iconic turns on the Formula 1 calendar, after Ferrariâs filming day at the Madrid circuit that will host the Spanish Grand Prix in September. Leclerc said: "It's a very, very special corner. It's a corner where I feel, in qualifying, we'll have to, I'll say it in a polite way, but we'll have to be very brave because it's going to be on the limit. So that's going to be really cool. I do believe it can become one of the most iconic corners of the season, especially once the grandstand is built."
Haas driver Ollie Bearman said it was âflatteringâ to hear rumours linking him with a Red Bull seat, but insisted his focus is on what he is doing with Haas. Bearman said: "First of all, it's quite flattering to hear things like that, to [be linked] with a team like Red Bull who are incredibly successful, and to be connected with them in any way, even if it's just rumours, is very nice. But, like I said, it's just rumours, and I'm fully focused on what I'm doing here with Haas at the moment."
George Russell says he stays calm amid criticism by focusing on what will make him faster and trusting that his recent struggles are down to his Mercedes car rather than his driving. Russell said: "I think what helps me through is focusing on the things that will make me go faster. Reading negative press or social media, or getting frustrated by media questions, yeah, those things don't bother me because I need to put all of my focus on myself and my team, on how I can go faster. I feel very resilient to this external noise. Because I know the reason when I don't perform is that something isn't quite working with the machine, not with my driving."
Valtteri Bottas has qualified for the UCI Gravel World Championship after finishing fifth in his age group at a Gravel World Series event in Hlinsko, Czech Republic, at the start of Formula 1âs summer shutdown. The Cadillac driver competed in the 131km race alongside partner Tiffany Cromwell and joked on Instagram: âWhilst the others are relaxing on their boats⌠Finished 5th in Men 35-39, and qualified for the gravel world champs.â
Honda chief engineer Shinharo Orihara said reports that Aston Martinâs latest power unit upgrade is worth as much as 50bhp are ânot the real numberâ. Orihara said: "I want to have that number, but that is a quite big number. I can't describe the detail of power, but my feeling with that is just, no, I don't think⌠not the real number."
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